Stray
by Jyo-Chan
Summary: He doesn’t belong anywhere, to anyone or anything. But somehow, in the middle of it all, he started to belong. Axel x Roxas [For Soraslilangel]


He doesn't belong anywhere, to anyone or anything. But somehow, in the middle of it all, he started to belong. Axel x Roxas (For Soraslilangel)

The AkuRoku Empire is slowly expanding! Huzzah!!

Jessie was feeling sad…So this shall be here 'pick me up'. Lols. Feel better Jessie!

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Axel, for a lack of a better and a more fitting description, was like a cat. A stray cat to be exact.

He was sly, knew how to get to most places people don't know about or have never heard of, could get from one place to another quickly and quietly and without detection, if he didn't want to be detected.

He had sharp green eyes and had a feral grin that bore into your very soul. If you stared long enough, you might notice his slight fangs and his pupils may look like slits.

He never stayed in the same place for more than a couple of nights or so before moving on to the next best place or the next best thing.

Sometimes though, he'd stay longer. Only if the place offered him different things to occupy himself with.

He didn't know how it all started.

He didn't really care to be honest.

But this was his life now and he liked it. Wouldn't trade it for the world. Wouldn't give up his freedom for anything else. Not for money, not for anything.

Freedom was priceless after all.

He was now roaming around the cold, dark streets of Hollow Bastion. The skies poured down for him in a sick sense of a welcoming committee.

He hated the rain, it made him wet and soaked him to the bone.

He sat under one of the shop shelters for cover and waited for the rain to halt. Although it didn't look like it would let up anytime soon.

The shop keeper wouldn't mind. It was closed for the day after all.

He idly watched as the people scurried past under their flimsy umbrellas or suitcases or under their already soaked jackets in a sad attempt to stay dry while they run for home.

Home…he didn't have a home.

He let out a soft sigh, his breath visible in front of him. He smirked as he drew in another breath and let it out slowly.

Somebody walked past, walking casually under their large, blue, sturdy umbrella, whistling a tune.

He looked up and noticed the boy had his hood up, even though he was under an umbrella.

The boy noticed and turned his head towards the red head. His blue eyes meeting with green. He stopped walking and stared, his lips still fixed in a shape of an 'o'.

"Got a problem?" the red head asked rhetorically in a voice laced with menace as he stared back at the blue eyed stranger.

"Nope," he grinned, "Are you stuck here?"

The red head shifted his eyes over at the looming black clouds and looked back at the other, "Yes, and your problem?"

"No problem." He shook his head and fully turned his body to the other. "Do you wanna borrow my umbrella? My place is just a couple more minutes away." He offered as he closed the umbrella and held it out.

"…" he looked at the blue umbrella that was being extended to him and then back to the blue eyed boy. "No thanks." He declined with a shake of his head.

"Why? Don't you wanna get home and get out of the rain?" the blond looked at him confusedly.

"I don't have a home." He turned away and sighed, watching as his breath disappeared into the atmosphere again.

"What do you mean?" a couple ran past, the boy holding up a jacket above them as the girl clung onto the boy.

"I don't belong anywhere." He turned back to the blue eyed boy, "Comprende?" he was started to get annoyed now.

"Oh, are you a traveler?" he asked curiously as he tilted his head to the side.

"I guess you could say that." He shrugged and sighed again.

"Cool," he smiled, "Do you have a place to stay tonight?" he asked suddenly.

"Nah." He replied casually.

"Do you wanna stay over?"

He stared at the blue eyed boy, 'Is this kid serious?' he raised an eyebrow at the boy and noted that he was indeed being serious then he shrugged, "Sure, I got nothing better to do and nowhere else to go." He reasoned as he got up from the floor and dusted himself off before bending over to pick up his one and only luggage which was a medium sized black duffel bag. The key chain attached to his bag jingled melodiously with the rain.

"Cool," he grinned as he opened up the blue umbrella again. He started walking and the red head followed.

They walked in companionable silence in the rain under the blue umbrella. The rain making pitter pattering noises on top of them. The blue eyed boy was back to whistling that tune again.

A few people passed them, running under the rain, trying to get back home as dry as possible. It was a futile attempt. The rain worsened in the last five minutes. It practically hurt to stand under it.

They reached the apartment within a couple of minutes and as soon as they came under the shelter of the apartment complex, the boy closed his umbrella and shook off the excess water before heading inside.

The red head followed silently behind, listening as the boy continued to whistle while he walked up to the elevator and pushed the button to head up.

After a short moment, a soft 'ding' resonated through the hard falling of the rain and the empty halls of the building. They both stepped inside and then the boy pushed the button for the sixth level.

"So, kid. What's your name?" the red head asked as he watched the number above the door increase as they rose higher.

The boy took off his hood, revealing his dirty blond hair and interesting hairstyle then turned around and smiled, "I'm Demyx. And you are?"

"The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" he smirked and watched as the other boy laughed.

"Cool catch phrase." He grinned and stepped off the elevator, the red head followed.

After they entered the apartment, the blond showed him around. Showing him where the kitchen was, although it was already visible as soon as they entered the place, where the toilets were, the empty room.

There was a moment of silence as the boy regarded the room for a while before turning back to the red head and smiling.

"Axel! You can stay here!"

"It's fine. I prefer the couch."

"Really? Why?" the blond asked, although a look of relief passed his blue eyes.

"It's more comfortable." He reasoned as he stepped back into the living room and dropped his bag by the couch.

"Ok, if you insist." He laughed and then walked into his own room. "How long will you be staying for?"

"Trying to kick me out already?"

"Nope, just that, you know. If you ever need a place to stay while you're in Hollow Bastion, come find me ok?" he came back out with a change of clothes then smiled.

"Kid, you're far too naïve for your own good." He smirked as he shook his head in disbelief.

His smile disappeared, "I'm not naïve, I'm just being nice." He reasoned with a shrug.

"Whatever you say Demyx, whatever you say." The said person smiled as he sat on the couch opposite the red head. He continued grinning, even half a minute later. "What?"

"You said my name." he widened his grin and watched as the red head rolled his eyes.

That was how he met first Demyx, the boy who would sometimes look lonely whenever his eyes shifted over to the empty room.

He left two days later.

He was now walking around the busy market streets of Radiant Garden, where mothers, aunties and the like shopped around for bargains and looked around for sales and discounted prices.

The noises of the bazaar crowded his mind and it annoyed him greatly. The whining of children, the shouting of sales people, and the hagglers trying to lower the sale price everywhere bugged him to no ends.

He quickly ditched the area and settled down beneath the look out that looked over the other part of the place that was still under construction.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead, he could still hear them echoing in his head. He felt a headache coming on.

"Are you lost?" a voice asked and he looked up to see a boy roughly his age except shorter.

He considered the question, then shrugged. "I don't plan on staying long." He reasoned as he looked away.

"Even so, it helps to know where you are and what places to go to." The other offered.

"Are you offering?" he quirked up an eyebrow at the other.

"I have time."

"Sure, I've got nothing better to do and nowhere else to go." He pushed himself off the floor and dusted himself off then readjusted his shoulder strap. The key chain jingled harmoniously with the construction noise. He noticed that the boy was pretty short compared to him.

"Ok then, I just have to drop this off for a professor of mine at work. Is that ok?" he asked as he adjusted his messenger bag shoulder strap.

"That's fine."

After a few minutes of silence, the descending of stairs and walking through a part of the town that was still under construction, they reached a building located close by but not directly associated with the town. "So, I'm assuming you're a tourist of some sort?" he asked as he pulled out a small stack of papers from his bag.

"You could say that." He shrugged as he walked by the shorter boy.

"I've only ever been to two places. Where have you traveled to?" he asked curiously as he walked through the quiet halls of the building, the red head followed.

"Here and there." He reasoned with a wave of the hand. "The most recent one is Hollow Bastion, I just left there today." The shorter boy paused mid-step for a second before continuing again.

"Hollow Bastion huh?" there was a small smile on his lips and the red head wondered what it was about, "How did you find the place?"

"It rained. Constantly, day and night. It got boring and too gloomy for my tastes."

The smaller boy chuckled, "How do you find _this_ place?"

"Too noisy. With the construction, the market, the kids…" he let out a tired sigh.

Eventually, they got to a room where the boy had then dropped off the stacks of papers for the professor with sleek silver hair and amber eyes.

Immediately, the red head didn't like the guy. He didn't know why. But just by looking at him, his heart immediately told him to run away.

The boy chatted with the older man for a while concerning the papers that he had just handed in while the red head stood by the door, ready to bolt when necessary.

After a couple more minutes, the both of them left the building. And a few minutes more after that, they were back in the main town. The market place was still full of hagglers, mothers, whining children and stall keepers. He found that particular place horribly annoying.

They toured around for a while, then the red head found that although the town was fairly big, there was only one path leading from one place to another. 'Easy enough.' He thought to himself as he walked by the shorter boy who stopped talking seconds ago.

"So, what's your name?" he asked casually as he regarded the smaller boy.

"My name is Zexion." He turned to the red head, "What about you?"

"The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" he smirked as he tapped his forehead.

The smaller boy looked amused. "I'll remember that." He smiled and looked away, "So Axel, how long will you be staying in Radiant Garden for?"

"Don't know." He shrugged, "The place doesn't look all that bad, but it doesn't look that interesting either."

"Hmm…I suppose." he nodded his head in understanding, "Half of the town is still under construction. We had an earthquake recently." He reasoned as he continued walking through the town, letting the red head's eyes roam around freely.

"Ouch, sounds and _looks_ bad." He remembered the look out from before where he saw the other part of the town. He only just vaguely remembered the cracks and fissures on the ground.

"There were no casualties, although half of the town's population was left homeless."

The red head let out a sound of regret and guilt coming from the bottom of his throat.

"We're slowly recovering, so it's fine."

The red head nodded and continued to walk silently by the boy whose hair he could now conclude as either slate colored or periwinkle.

That was how he met Zexion, the boy who would sometimes look up at the sky and have a small, sad smile on his face.

Eventually, he offered his home for the red head to stay. And Axel looked as though he was about to refuse, but decided that it was far too late in the day to move on to the next town.

He stayed for one night, and left the next morning.

He was now in a place called Port Royal, located near the sea and by the docks. The place was filled with immoral, deceitful and unprincipled people. They gathered around him, radiating an aura that made the red head want to leave immediately, but the sun was already setting so it was too late to hit the road again.

It was only 4pm, but the sun was already sinking into the horizon, dyeing the sky a deep hue of mixed colors.

He entered a building that was half a pub and half a hotel. He sat down on one of the stools at the bar and waited to be served. Or to be given a menu at least.

"How may I help ya?" a gruff voice greeted him.

The red head peered at the older man and wondered what the hell happened to him. He answered quickly, "Do you guys sell food here?"

The other snorted, "Yeah, sure. If you call beef stew that looks like shit, food." He grunted then hollered into the kitchen area. "Oi! Gimme a beef stew!" he cried out then turned back to the red head, "It don't taste like shit though, lemme tell you that much." He smirked and the red head wasn't sure if he wanted to eat this 'beef stew' or not.

The bowl of hot food came within minutes. Personally, it didn't look like shit at all. He took a chance and ate it, he widened his eyes slightly as he chewed then swallowed.

"I have no idea what you're on about, it doesn't even look that bad. _And_ it tastes good too." He complimented as he took another bite.

The other snorted, "Yeah, well. Tell that to those other dip-shits that hang around here." He rolled his eyes and pulled out a bottle from beneath the counter top. "Since you said it's nice, here's one on the house."

"Really?" he stared at the bottle, "Thanks."

"No problem kid." He smirked and took in the frown from the red head.

"I'm not a kid. The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah, yeah. Call me Xigbar. Or Xiggy for short. Whatever." He waved his hand around, "So Axel, you new around here?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving tomorrow though."

The older man chuckled, "This place ain't to your liking?" he inquired as he leaned over the counter top closer to the red head.

"No, three people groped my ass, and I think one of them was a man." He huffed as he continued to eat the beef stew.

"Yeah, this place is a total shit-hole if you ask me."

"Then why don't you leave?" he asked as he picked up the bottle and drank from it. He almost choked. "What the fu-Is this rum?!"

"Yup," he laughed as he took in the choking state of the red head, "What? Too strong for ya?"

" No," he replied with a sneer, "I'm just not use to it, that's all." He reasoned as he took another sip, "Anyways, if this place is such a shit-hole, why don't you-"

"Don't wanna." He reasoned and the red head noticed the slight far away look coming from the other's only visible eye. "This place has a lot of memories, some good, some bad. Don't feel like leaving it all behind." He reasoned with another shrug.

"I see." He stared down at his food thoughtfully.

"Well, anyways. Eat up, and if you need a room, just tell me and I'll get you a key." He smirked as he walked away to another drunken customer just hanging off the chair on the other end of the bar. "Oi, you shit-head, go back home and sober up already."

"Shat tah fark up, biatch…" the man's speech slurred as he toppled off the stool and proceeded to sleep on the floor.

"Stupid fuck." He shook his head as he bent over to pick up the drunken man and sat him back down on the regular chairs.

The red head stared at the older man as he tried to wake the other up enough to get him to walk home.

Maybe not all of them were immoral, deceitful and unprincipled like he had first thought.

Despite his looks and attitude, the older man managed to prove him wrong.

That was how he met Xigbar, the man who wouldn't leave the place because he wanted to keep his memories with him.

He stayed in the room located one floor above the bar and slept for the night. In the morning, he was surprised how different the town was before the sun reached it's highest point. The roads were quiet and there were some people who walked around, minding their own business.

He left before the town woke up from their alcohol induced sleep.

He took a boat that was ferrying people to and from Port Royal. He sort of regretted leaving without saying goodbye to the older man. But it was too late for that.

He was one hour away from Destiny Island. His new destination. And if he liked it enough, maybe his new home for the next few days.

When he arrived, he wasn't quite prepared with the quiet tranquility of it all. It was as though the whole place was disconnected from the rest of the world.

The whole place gave off the image of perfection. If perfection existed at all.

He walked along the beaches, his socks tucked into his shoes as he held onto them with two fingers, his pants rolled up so it won't get soaked by the waves that rolled in and out.

He enjoyed the feeling of sand in between his toes. It wasn't a new experience, but he's only ever done this twice in his young life.

He looked around the place, deeming it safe to leave his bag and shoes alone for a little as he skipped sea shells and rocks on top of the water.

The best one he got was four skips.

"Hey you." Somebody from behind him called out and he turned around to the speaker. He saw a short boy with messy hair and for a moment, he wondered if the boy was talking to him or not. The boy smiled, "Yeah, you."

"Yes?" he peered at the boy curiously.

"Did you just come from Port Royal?"

"Yes." He nodded once and watched as the boy dug his sandals into the sand and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his three quarter pants.

"Oh, ok." He walked towards the red head, passing his belongings then sitting on the sand just before the waves stopped.

The red head then ignored him and continued to skip various shaped sea shells and rocks on top of the water. He found that circular shaped shells worked better than broken or chipped ones and oddly shaped rocks.

He smirked when he got five skips.

"Cool, you got five skips." The boy commented with a smile on his face. "I only get three at most." He laughed at himself, picked up a couple of sea shells and got up.

"Practice makes perfect." He smirked as he tried again, he only got four skips this time.

The boy stuck his tongue out as he threw the rock over the waters, skipping once, then twice, then thrice and sinking into the rolling waves. "Aww, darn." He snapped his fingers.

After a few more turns of skipping rocks and sea shells, they sat down and watched the sun sink down in the horizon. It was still pretty early in the day for the sun to set.

"Yeah, I think it's because we're so far away from the equator. The nights are long and the days are short." He explained as he played around with a stick and drew random patterns on the grass. "Oh, I'm Tidus by the way." He smiled as he turned to the red head.

"The name's Axel, got it memorized?"

The sandy haired blond laughed, "Good one, how did you come up with it?"

The red head shrugged, "Don't know. I just did one day."

"Cool." He continued to laugh to himself as he turned his head back to the sinking sun.

This place was too quiet and it unnerved him. He decided to leave without spending the night.

After all, he still had enough daylight to make it to the next town. He picked up his bag and slung the strap over his head. The key chain jingled pleasantly with the rolling waves.

"Leaving already?" the boy asked as he got up after the red head who was walking towards the foot path.

"Yeah." He didn't give a reason why. Thinking that 'This place is too quiet and calm.' sounded rather rude.

"Oh, ok." He watched as he red head brushed off the sand from his feet then pulled on his socks and shoes before pulling down his pants. "Guess I'll see you around then." He waved at the red head who started walking off.

"See ya." He threw a wave back, not bothering to look back.

That was how he first met Tidus, the boy who couldn't stop looking over the ocean with a placid look on his face.

He was in Twilight Town now, the place wasn't too quiet, but it wasn't too loud either. There had been no recent disasters to hit the place and the people who populated the town were friendly people who offered to help him on more than one occasion.

He strolled around the place they called a 'Tram Common', mainly because of a tram that would circle the whole market area. He liked free things, so he couldn't help it when the tram passed him and he hopped on. He stayed on for three cycles, watching the scenery pass before he deemed that it was enough and hopped off again.

He would browse through the shops, look at the trinkets and jewelry that they sold and he even bought one of their town's favorite foods.

A sea salt ice cream.

He didn't like it that much, but he couldn't bring himself to throw it away either. The taste got pleasant after a while though.

He got to the train station and looked at the schedule. He jumped when he saw that there was a free train going to the next part of the town.

He walked around a lot, watching the scenery, sometimes pausing to look at the sun set. It looked nice from here.

He strolled past a semi-secluded area where there was a mini waterfall. He smirked as he checked his reflection and vaguely noticed a slight stain on the corner of his lips from the ice cream he had just now.

He blushed slightly in embarrassment and wondered how many people saw it.

Probably not many, it was almost past 6 o'clock, which meant most people would be at home, maybe eating their dinner.

Eventually, he came across a terrace of some sort. The sunset looked even more beautiful from up there. There was even a miniature model of the town's clock tower at the edge of it.

He sat down on the benches, taking his bag off and leaving it beside him as he turned his head to watch the sinking sun that almost disappeared behind the horizon.

The sky was colored a brilliant mix of red and orange. He could see why this place is called Twilight Town now.

He heard footsteps approaching, then they stopped. It was a while before they started again, and from the corner of his green eyes, a blond boy walked past towards the edge of the terrace and stood by the mini clock tower, one hand in his pocket, possibly fingering something.

After a certain amount of time, when the sun almost disappeared behind the horizon, the boy left again.

As soon as the sun completely sunk into the distance, he stood up, slung his shoulder strap over his head and walked off. Taking the free train back to the main town to look around for a place to stay.

His curiosity got the best of him when he saw a gaping hole in the wall and he wondered why nobody bothered to fix it up. It was the only flaw in this town so far.

He looked through it and noticed a forest. It was quiet and eerie. He moved through the forest and spotted a mansion.

The closer he got to the mansion, the more he realized that it was abandoned. Maybe because of the rusted gates and the broken garden ornaments scattered around the front.

The front door of the house was opened as well.

He found his home for the night.

He spent the early part of the next day exploring the mansion and he wondered why they left it alone. For a moment he thought that maybe it was haunted.

But he didn't experience any sort of phenomenon or nightmares when he stayed the night.

There wasn't anything unusual in the mansion although when he tried to enter a particular room, he found that it was locked on the inside. He left it as it is.

He found that there was a library in one of the other rooms located on the second floor, filled with countless books and history records.

He immediately thought of Zexion.

During his stay at Radiant Garden, he noticed that the shorter boy liked to read a lot. The bookshelves in the living room completely gave it away.

Maybe he should bring him here one day.

He explored the rest of the town in the later part of the day and came across a tunnel that connected to all of the other parts of the town. From the market area, to the train station, to the terrace and so on. He counted five entrances and exits.

The tunnels echoed everything he did, from the steps, to the whistles. There was a nice ring to each of them.

He immediately thought of Demyx.

During the time he stayed in Hollow Bastion, he remembered that that blond boy liked to play music on the various types of guitars he owned. His favorite one was the sitar, whatever that was.

Maybe he should bring him here one day.

He went back to the terrace just in time to watch the sunset, and when he walked up the hill, there was a bright blue light that shone right into his eyes and he had to shield them before continuing up.

He saw the boy again, holding up a sort of blue marble up to the light. It had a brilliant shine to it.

When his presence was made known, the boy immediately hid the marble in his pockets again.

The red head sat on the benches and his vision strayed from watching the sunset and the boy occasionally.

As soon as the sun dipped down over the horizon, the boy left again.

He left soon after that and returned to the mansion and spent the night. He planned on leaving tomorrow as soon as he couldn't find anything else to occupy himself with.

In the early morning, he woke up to noises and he bolted up from his makeshift bed and looked around wildly to locate them. It was coming from outside the room he claimed for his own.

He slowly got up and walked towards the door, creaking it open slightly and peeking through the crack to find the same boy he's seen these past couple of days climbing up the stairs, holding onto a small bunch of white lilies towards the locked room.

He smirked a little, 'That room's locked kid. No way you could-' he stopped himself and wiped his smirk off.

The boy took out something from his pocket, a key possibly and opened the door, entered it then closed it behind him.

He furrowed his eyebrows and closed the door and sat back down on the floor.

Question flowed through his mind, the repetitive ones being, 'Why does he have a key?', 'What's in that room?', 'Why was it locked?'

Curiosity getting the best of him, he decided that he'll have a look into that room as soon as the boy leaves.

The boy left two hours later and during that time, the red head had waited patiently and quietly. Even after the boy left, he waited another ten minutes more before he decided to check the room out.

It took him roughly a minute to pick the lock before he managed to get the door open. And as soon as he opened it, he was more than a little surprised.

The room was white, pure white, with pictures littered all over the floor and the walls.

On the table in the middle of the room was a sketchbook, a few coloring pencils and crayons, and a vase full of the white lilies that the boy had brought in earlier.

This was the only room in the whole mansion that didn't seem to fit in. It was clean, it was a different color, and it was completely livable.

Again, questions flowed through his mind, 'What's so special about this room?', 'Why is it locked?', 'Does he live here?'

He walked closer to the table and looked at the opened sketchbook. It was a familiar picture. He knew immediately that it was the clock tower of the town.

He didn't bother to flip to the next page, he was already prying too much by being in this room.

He left the room after looking around a bit more, making sure to lock the door behind him before going back to his own room.

He decided to visit the clock tower and managed to find a way up to the top via the stairs in the train station.

The view was stunning and it left him breathless. Sometimes he wished he brought a camera along.

He decided to take a seat and as soon as he did, he saw the boy again, walking towards the train station, probably to go to that terrace to watch the sunset again. For a moment, the red head thought the boy looked up at him, but he was too far to really know for sure.

He let out a quiet and contented sigh as he shifted his eyes back to the sinking sun. The next train ride to go _anywhere_ was at least an hour away, so he decided to wait. He almost jumped off from the edge when somebody spoke from behind him, "Who are you?"

"Jesus Christ kid, you want me to commit suicide or something?" he stared at the boy as he clutched at his heart.

He looked away for a moment then mumbled out an apology, "Sorry."

He waved the apology off, "Yeah, whatever." He managed to calm his heart down back to a normal pace as he stared at the boy. His hand was in his pocket while the other rested at his side.

"Are…you new around here?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, but I'll be leaving soon." He replied as he turned back to the scenery.

"Oh, ok." he stood somewhere behind the red head, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"You can sit down if you want you know." He offered without turning around.

There was a pause of hesitation before the boy sat by the red head, "Thanks."

They sat in companionable silence and watched the sunset together, the boy still had one hand in his pocket, the red head noticed.

"What do you have there?" he asked curiously as he gave the boy a side-ward glance.

The boy's blue eyes met with green and then shifted down to the pocket. Slowly and gingerly, he took out the small blue marble and showed it to the red head.

"Something special I'm assuming?" the red head spoke as he raised an eyebrow at the ordinary item.

The boy stared at the blue marble and slowly nodded, "Yeah…"

"Hm…Ok." He shrugged and all conversation halted there.

He didn't know how long he sat there for, but when he heard the whistle of the train, he realized it must've been a while.

"I think you missed your train." The boy spoke as he fingered the marble in his hands.

"Whoops." He smirked wryly as he turned away and scratched his cheek, he had completely forgotten about it. "If I remember correctly, the next one should be in an hour."

"Ok." He idly swung his legs back and forth from the edge.

He missed the next train as well and the boy still sat beside him, even though the sun had already sunk behind the horizon.

They watched as the stars slowly appeared to brighten the night sky and the crescent moon illuminated the town.

"You're still here." The red head spoke as he glanced at the boy.

"So are you." A small smile graced his lips.

"Indeed we are."

It wasn't until it was starting to get unbearably cold before they decided to head back into the train station. The train to his next destination had just arrived, a few people hopped off looking tired and weary. He was about to get on when the boy spoke to him again.

"Here, a souvenir to remember this place by."

The red head stared at the boy then at the item that was being given to him and then he stared back at the boy. "Why? Isn't it important to you?"

"Yeah," he turned his head away for a moment, "But I've had it for long enough, I'll let you borrow it for now." He shrugged as he looked back at the red head.

He looked at the blue marble and extended his hand for it, "Thanks." He let out a soft chuckle as he picked up the blue marble and raised it up to look at it through the lights that lit up the station.

"It looks better through the sunset though." he spoke as he watched the red head.

"Hmm, I wouldn't know." He smiled as he shifted the marble in between his fingers.

"Guess…I'll see you around." He waved then walked away.

"Hey kid!" he called out and the boy turned around. "What's your name?"

"I'm Roxas."

"The name's Axel, got it memorized?" he smirked as he tapped his forehead.

The blond boy smiled and nodded, "I'll commit that to memory." He watched as the red head approached him.

"Here, look after this for me. I'll come back for it though." He smirked as he took the blonds' hand and placed something into it.

The blond looked down to see a key chain. A circular, metallic, mixed with red and white keychain decorated with spikes. He looked back up at the red head. "Thanks."

Behind them, the train's whistle blew and departed. The red head sighed, "Damn, I missed my train again."

"That's the last one for the day." The blond smiled, he didn't mean to be so rude, but somehow, he felt better that the red head got to stay for one more day.

"Guess I'll have to stay here for one more day." He smirked as he tossed the blue marble from one hand to another.

"Do you have a place to stay?" the blond asked as he looked back down at the keychain.

"I used to." He couldn't really tell the blond that he had been staying at that abandoned mansion for the past two nights.

"I've got a guest room in my house. You're welcome to stay."

"Nice of you to offer," he smirked, "Since you're the one who made me miss my train."

The blond looked offended, "I did not!" he cried out in disbelief.

"Ok, ok." He chuckled, "Chill, chill." He let out another chuckle as the blond huffed and stalked off.

He smirked as he watched the boy stepped down the stairs towards the exit of the station. He stopped as his hand touched the handle then turned around, "Are you coming?" he asked with a slight pout.

He let out another soft chuckle, 'Just one more day wouldn't hurt.' he thought to himself as he followed the boy.

He stayed for one week and counting.

During his stay, he told Roxas of all the places he went. Told him all the people he met. And all the things he saw.

The blond enjoyed his sometimes over-exaggerated stories and laughed at everything.

The red head thought back to all the people he met in his travels, maybe he'd visit them all again one day, but for now. He'd stay here with Roxas. Because he finally felt as though he belonged.

Or maybe he could bring Roxas along next time.

He said yes.

* * *

Er…I have no idea what I was on when I was writing this. But feel free to leave behind a review. 


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